


Stuck in the Moment

by wigster



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Bullying, I firmly believe this no matter what season 3 says, Minor Original Character(s), Public Humiliation, Quirin is not a very good dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:01:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wigster/pseuds/wigster
Summary: When Varian perfects his goo trap, he’s eager to show it to his village. The presentation ends up worse than he anticipated(Sorry about the summary and the title, I know they’re lame)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 43





	1. Ladies and gentlemen

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, so constructive criticism is accepted but patience and kindness are appreciated. 
> 
> I always wondered why only Varian has the goo trap since it’s a good invention to solve the critter problem, so this idea was born

“Ladies and gentleman!” Varian called, climbing up on the platform that functioned as a stage of sorts for announcements and meetings. It was the perfect place to show off his latest invention. 

And this was the perfect time too, most people would be eating lunch or moving on in their work, having to pass by the town square where Varian stood. As predicted, the people who were in the area stopped to see what was going on.

But the reactions were not what Varian was hoping for. 

“Not this again, boy, we’re still cleaning up from your last disaster!” Mark the baker complained. 

Oh right, the well incident. About a week ago, Varian had decided to test his newest batch of his water heating solution in the well by the square. He was hoping that he could get the water to heat up so he could start production on his surprise underground water broilers. That kind of invention would make the villagers love him! But the chemical was more… volatile than Varian was anticipating and the well ended up collapsing on itself, causing a long and difficult fix it process as well as a water shortage. He had offered to help clean up but the villagers said no. All at once. 

Needless to say, he was even less popular than usual with the townsfolk right now. But he had the solution in his hand - one that could fix things. Not the well of course, but something else. 

“Yes, it would seem that my latest creation needs some fine tuning, but I have something completely different here!” he announced, using his best showmans voice. 

It didn’t seem to sway many people. A good majority of the village was now in the square so if Varian was going to make his pitch he needed to do it fast. 

“We don’t want your crazy potion, it will only cause trouble,” Clarice the seamstress yelled. Okay uncalled for.

“Yeah. just stop with the black magic and let us get back to fixing the mess that you made!” Alfred the farmer agreed. 

Undeterred by their rude comments, Varian seized the opportunity to talk to the farmer. “But Alfred, this alchemy creation concerns you the most!” he insisted, “and before anyone even asks, there is nothing even remotely flammable or explosive in this.”

There were a few annoyed grumbles and whispers, but when no one openly stopped him, Varian continued. “Alfred, you have had a fox getting into your field haven’t you? And Elaine, I know you get your apples stolen by hungry racoons. We’ve had the critter problem for a while now, but we deal with the problem by expensive and inhumane traps. Well no more!”

At this Varian pulled the pink sphere from his apron pocket and held it up for the village to see. It was rather unimpressive to the naked eye, but once it was detonated, it became a true wonder of alchemy. 

“You think that’s gonna solve all of our problems?” an indistinguishable voice called, “It looks about as dumb as the person who made it.” There were a few snickers at the joke and Varian faltered for a moment. 

But never one to back down from doing what he loved, he went on. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but this really will solve some of the problems. When you throw down the bomb, or rig it to go off at a certain time, it will detonate, spitting out a goo like substance that will trap animals and hold them until you are able to sprinkle on the antidote and scare them away. The goo will dissolve with a salt that I created as well. This is a harmless and inexpensive way to trap critters and pests and keep contained until they can be dealt with,” Varian concluded. 

Amazingly enough, some of the eyes in the crowd were alight with piqued interest. He was getting their attention. This was it! He was going to show them that he could make things to help the village. 

But luck was not on his side that day. His clumsiness came back to bite him when he accidently dropped the alchemy ball. All logic left his brain as he tried to stupidly reach down and grab the bomb before it could detonate. Naturally he was too uncoordinated and slow. The goo exploded around his feet, emitting a rather awesome cloud of pink smoke, causing several people to back up. Unfortunately Varian was distracted by the dazzling display and did notice that his hands were trapped in the goo as well, causing him to hunch over to accommodate his hands being stuck near his ankles. 

When the smoke cleared, he looked up at the shocked faces around him. They were expecting an explosion, and Varian was relieved that he did not provide one. However his relief was short-lived when he tried to free his hands and feet and found that they were stuck tight. He yanked and thrashed, but his compound did not yield. Well… it wasn’t the worst thing to happen - he had the melting solution in his apron pocket after all. He was a scientist, he had to prepare for every variable. 

He looked up again and flashed a sheepish smile, his cheeks heating up with embarrassment. “See,” he joked lightly, “I told you it would work.”

His slight embarrassment turned into full embarrassment when the crowd of people burst into laughter, all previous interest and intrigue gone. Now no one would look at his creation and see the wonderful applications that they could utilize, but they would only think of Varian being stuck in it as a silly joke. They would never take it seriously. He had to get this back under control - had to save his presentation before it was too late. 

“Um, I promise, it works, and it well, uh, you’re not supposed to drop it like I did, but-”

“Boy that potion sure does a mighty fine job of trapping pests!” More laughter sounded at the comment and Varian’s whole face burned with humiliation. 

How did this go so wrong? This was his first successful solution that could be put to good use for the village, but one little mistake had made him a laughing stock! And to make matters worse, he had to ask for help to get out of the trap as he couldn’t reach the antidote with his pinned hands. The sooner the better. He wanted to get away from these malicious sneers and cruel teasing, and come back when he could successfully show people his creation. 

He tried to pull his arms free once more, but they didn’t budge. A small part of him was proud at how effective this goo was, but most of him was too embarrassed to dwell on it. “Haha, no worries,” he managed, “now I can show you how the antidote works.” His back was starting to ache from this ridiculous bowed position. 

He looked over to Elaine, who was standing the closest to him and could easily reach the antidote. “Elaine, the antidote is in my apron pocket - can you grab it and sprinkle it on the goo? It will all dissolve and I can get to work making more orbs.” 

Elaine rolled her eyes, but moved towards him. “When will you ever learn?” she muttered under her breath. 

“Hang on a minute!” a voice called. Varian’s gaze flew up to meet Hank the blacksmith’s irritated expression. Oh no, this wasn’t going to be good. Hank had had it out for him ever since Varian had accidentally started a small fire in the forge, in which Hank and Quirin got in a very heated argument over what to do with Varian. Quirin was the village leader, so that round obviously went to him and Hank had held a grudge ever since. Whatever he was about to say could not be good. 

The blacksmith walked in front of the crowd and turned to them, facing away from Varian. 

“C’mon folks, we’ve already got a lot of work to do because of this menace, and now you want him roaming free and creating more solutions that will get the whole village stuck in pink goop?” the man started. There were murmurs and some whispers of agreement and Varian’s heart sank. They didn’t want him making more traps? But this would solve the critter problem - this was a great invention that could improve people’s lives! Why couldn’t they get past their resentment and pride?! 

Oh wait, Hank was still talking. “You heard the kid, that gooey mess keeps pests trapped until you’re ready to deal with them. So let’s let it keep this pest contained until the well is fixed and his father can deal with him.”

Varian’s stomach flipped. They… they wouldn’t leave him like this would they? They wouldn’t leave him trapped in this hunched position until sundown when his father returned right? The goo didn’t dissolve for at least thirteen hours - he would know, he tested it himself. He would be stuck on this stage all day while the villagers continued on with their lives. What would his father say when he came back? He would be so ashamed.  
Varian renewed his struggling, desperate to free himself from the trap, but it held firm. 

“W-wait if you could just-” “Save your breath, kid, Hank is right. We can’t have you screwing up everything we’re trying to fix,” Alfred barked. 

“So it is settled then. As temporary leader while Quirin is away and without him here to keep the boy in check, I say that this nuisance stays put while we accomplish a good day’s work with no inturrption,” Hank announced. Murmurs and hoots of agreement filled the air and people began clearing the square, going about their business as if Varian wasn’t stuck in such an awkward position. 

“Wait, you can’t leave me like this!” Varian desperately called out. He wriggled and thrashed against the powerful goo. “Please someone get me out of this!”

The villagers paid him no mind. They went back to their shops and fields, and many of the men turned the corner to work on the collapsed well down the street. They were leaving him. After he tried to impress them - tried to help them. They were leaving him to stand at this unbearable level on the platform in the center of town, easily seen, all day long until his father returned to “deal with him.” 

Tears of humiliation welled up in Varian’s eyes. No no no! You are not going to cry. He poured every ounce of strength and will into not letting his shameful tears fall. They’ll see, he thought bitterly, one day I’ll make something that will change their minds about me.

Soon after the square was mostly empty, Hank approached the trapped boy. Varian would have glared at him, but he didn’t want the man to see the tears in his eyes, so he kept his head down. 

“You brought this on yourself y’know,” Hank taunted. Varian scowled, the tears replaced by an embarrassed frustration. 

“You can’t just leave me here like this all day.”

“We can and we will. You’re a menace and a nuisance, and if I were leader of this village, I would have dealt with a troublemaker such as yourself long ago. And as acting leader, I can make that happen. Now you’re gonna stay put and stay quiet until your father gets back, understand?”

Varian opened his mouth to retort, but Hank had already begun to walk away. 

So this was it then. His first major success, his most helpful and nonexplosive alchemical solution, and his display was met with disdain and humiliation. What was supposed to be his greatest triumph turned into an embarrassing blemish on his already tarnished reputation. 

Varian didn’t think this day could get any worse.


	2. Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We’ve seen how the adults in the village reacted to Varian’s problem, but now it’s his peers who get to see what’s happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a part 2 and I just wanted to get it out there. I don’t like it as much as the first one and it somehow feels out of place and it doesn’t seem as much in character because while I could see the other scenario happening, this just didn’t turn out to be my best. but I decided to run with it so bon appetite I guess

Varian thought wrong. The day ended up much worse.

The hours following getting stuck in his goo trap were tedious, uncomfortable, and so boring. He wasn’t one that was very good at sitting still, and being trapped in the same position for several hours was only making things worse. Not only that, but the summer sun of the stupid sunshine kingdom beat down relentlessly. He was hot, restless, and exhausted.

He ended up sitting down to relieve some of the tension in his back, and while it did help a little, sitting on his butt with his hands and legs stuck in front of him was in no means a comfortable way to sit. The position had folded his body in a small hunched ball.

He gave up on trying to convince the villagers to let him out of the goo long ago. Whenever he asked someone that came by him, they would ignore him, scoff and move on, or say that it was much easier for them to get their work down without him screwing everything up. Some even mocked him and laughed at his predicament, and it stung. Is this all that they wanted? To humiliate him and keep him trapped? Did they refuse to see the benefits of his creation because it was him who created it? Were they willing to let the critter problem get worse because they didn’t want to admit that Varian was actually successful? Whatever the case was, it definitely deflated Varian’s pride and confidence. 

He tried to ignore his growling stomach as the afternoon wore on. It wasn’t difficult, as he had foregone food several times in the past for his passion for science, but he hadn’t eaten that morning and now he was paying the price for it. And it wouldn’t get any better any time soon - it wouldn’t be sundown for several hours. 

Varian sighed and arched his back, stretching it as best he could. The square had been empty for a while now - leaving him to bake in the heat and wallow embarrassment. He only liked to have this much time to think when he was solving an equation or working with alchemy. He was debating if it was possible to fall asleep in this position when he heard several sets of footsteps approach him. 

The group that had entered the square made his heart lurch. Henry, one of the meanest people in the village and Varian’s most consistent and malicious bully, was standing in front of him, with four of his lackeys hanging back behind him. 

Oh Varian should have seen this coming! It was late afternoon and that meant that school had let out. Varian was not in attendance because he had finished his studies when he was eleven, but this was his least favorite time of day. Most of the kids in the village picked on him and when they got done with school, and after that time, Varian tried to remain in his house. Being stuck on this platform was already embarrassing enough, but having his peers and bullies see it just added to the humiliation tenfold. 

“Oh man,” Henry laughed, “My old man was right when he said they got a pest caught in the critter trap.” Varian felt his face heat up to his ears with shame. 

“What did we get today, Henry?”

“Not sure. Whatever it is, it’s disgusting. No sudden moves, boys, it could be rabid.”

Varian tried not to let his apprehension and slowly building anxiety show. Most of the kids that picked on him stuck with verbal insults and rude comments, but Henry and his gang tended to come up with more… creative methods to tease him. 

“Go away, guys, I’m not in the mood.”

“Why not? You’ve certainly got the time for it.”

The kids laughed and Varian glared up at Henry. “Leave me alone!” he snapped. 

Henry let out an offended scoff, like it was Varian who was bullying him. “Oh don’t be so dramatic, Var, we only wanted to see the pest in the trap for ourselves,” he said in a deceivingly innocent voice. 

“Your dad already used that joke,” Varian mumbled, “Get your own.” His frustration was growing by the second and he wanted nothing to do with Hank the blacksmith or his bothersome demon seed. Like father like son. 

Annoyance crossed Henry’s features before his face melted back into a smug grin. “Actually we’re here doing good deeds for the village. Elaine sent us with some food and water for you.”

Varian’s head snapped up. He now realized that one of the kids was holding a bucket of water - that had no doubt been salvaged from the well - and a sack of apples. Well at least someone cared if he starved or not. But this charity was Elaine’s and not out of the goodness of Henry’s heart, if he even had one. There was definitely a catch. 

“And you’re just gonna give it to me?” Varian asked. He could hear the skepticism in his voice. The boys in front of him laughed, and Varian’s theory was proven correct. 

“C’mon Var, you can’t be as dumb as that. If you want to benefit from our generosity, then you gotta give me something in return,” Henry explained, a malicious glint in his eye. Varian knew that was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Whatever Henry wanted from him would only end in more embarrassment and misery. 

“And what do you suggest I do?” Varian snapped, “I’m stuck in this trap and I won’t be able to get out for several hours. Unless of course you are willing to get me out of this?” He knew that would never happen - the bullies were getting too much sick satisfaction from seeing him like this - but it couldn’t hurt to ask. 

“Nah,” Henry replied, “We’re under strict orders to not let you get out of that disaster. But we’ll deliver to you these provisions if you give us some of these goo bombs.” 

What? What would Henry want with his traps? He perked up the slightest bit. Someone was interested in his work. There really was somebody wanting him to make more goo bombs. This could be great for him, if he could get the word out about how someone was using his creation then he could-

Wait a minute. In his haste to be excited that someone wanted to use his alchemy, he forgot who he was talking to. Henry wasn’t interested in his creation - he was interested in doing whatever was pleasurable for him. Well Varian was not falling for it.

“No way, Henry, if I give you my compound, you’re just gonna use it on me. Just like when you wanted to “borrow” my apron and used it to tie me to a tree,” Varian spat. It had taken several washes to get the tomatoes-he-had-been-pelted-with stains out of his clothes. 

Henry just laughed at his furious words. “Aw man I miss the days when you were dumb enough to fall for stuff like that. But seriously, Var, if you don’t give me-” 

Normally Varian would never interrupt Henry for fear of getting punched, but his patience was wearing thinner by the second and he was too exhausted to deal with this.

“Get away from me, Henry. I’m sore, I’m hot, and I’m tired. I don’t want to spend my time stuck like this talking to a bunch of jerks like you!” For the first ten seconds, it felt good - it really did. But Henry quickly got over his shock and an angry scowl pinched his eyebrows together. 

“Oh, you’re hot are you?” he sneered, “Joseph, why don’t you cool him down.” Before Varian had time to even put a coherent thought together, Joseph dumped the entire bucket of water on him. 

Varian gasped as the cold water doused him. In some way, it felt nice to be somewhat relieved from the relentless heat, but Varian didn’t dwell on it. This was already an uncomfortable and distressing situation and now he was soaked. And he wouldn’t get to drink any of the water they were so graciously going to provide for him. What a bunch of jerks. 

The boys laughed at him, and Joseph and Henry high fived. Varian glared fiercely at all of them.This day had been public humiliation in every way. First Hank had called him a nuisance and convinced the whole village that Varian should be trapped and out of the way, and now his son wanted to drive the point of his embarrassment home. 

“The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree does it?” Varian hissed. He didn’t usually retaliate their rudeness, but he was exasperated and so sick of feeling so stupid. 

However, Henry never missed a beat, and his eyes lit up with sick pleasure. “And now you’d like an apple huh?” With no hesitation, he yanked an apple out of the bag and shoved it into Varian’s mouth, cutting off the boy’s shout of surprise. It was so abrupt and harsh that Varian thought his jaw was going to pop out of its socket with how wide his mouth was open. 

The apple was wedged in tight, Varian’s slightly protruding front teeth hardly making a dent. Shock and surprise aside, rage built up in Varian’s gut. He tried to bite down on the apple so he could spit it out and tell the kids off, but he couldn’t quite get his mouth to form a proper bite. Slightly panicked, he attempted to open his mouth wider to remove the apple, but his jaw was pushed down as far as it would go. Now the panic was setting in full force. He couldn’t get this stupid apple out of his mouth! He shook his head fiercely, trying anything to dislodge it, but nothing worked. He could try banging it against his knees, but that could hurt him. He tried to tell Henry to get it out, but the boy only laughed at his indistinguishable and pathetic plea.

Tears of shame and dejection teetered on his lashes as they boys continued to mock him, and the panic was now replaced by ever present humiliation. Today really was the day for everyone to take his greatest success and use it to abash and make fun of him. Oh how he couldn’t wait for the day when they appreciated his inventions and appreciated him. 

The boys began clearing the square but before Henry disappeared down the street, he turned back to Varian. “Really great work with the traps, Var. It sure does help everyone in the village to keep problems like you contained.” With that, he turned and walked away. 

Only when the square was empty and quiet again did Varian allow his tears to fall. Why were the people so against him? He was aware that sometimes he screwed up and caused some problems, but everything he did was to help other people - to make their lives a little easier with the awesome power of alchemy. He had good intentions, but nobody saw that. And his good intentions got him stuck in his own trap and an apple wedged in his mouth so he couldn’t even call for help. Not that anyone would give it to him. He did everything he could to help and no one would return the favor. 

Well, they would someday, once he proved that he could change their lives. He could do it - he knew he could - he just had to get everyone else to see that. And eventually he would. No more small scale inventions that no one cared about. If he was going to help this village, then he really needed to do something big. 

But for now, he just had to wait for his father to return so he could begin drawing blueprints for hot water boilers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m disappointed with the ending but I had no idea how to wrap up this story. 
> 
> I will probly delete this chapter but I decided to post it anyway.


	3. Uh oh, it’s my dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian is both relieved and worried that his dad has come to release him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was supposed to be one-shot turned into 3. Sorry it’s a little rushed and not as long but it’s more for closure purposes and since quirin is a man of few words, it fits. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented/left kudos!

Finally, blessedly, the sun was setting. 

Daydreaming about the water boilers had made the day pass much faster than Varian thought, but that didn’t mean it was fast or comfortable. His jaw was aching something awful from having an apple jammed in his mouth and his back was sore from sitting in such a hunched position. His clothes were still slightly damp from getting a bucket of water dumped on him, but that was the least of his worries. 

His real worry is that his dad would be home any minute now. 

How was he supposed to explain himself? Dad was still upset with him about the well incident and if he knew that Varian was trying to come up with more alchemical compounds without his permission, then he would be even more disappointed. Not to mention the humiliation of explaining how he got stuck in this situation in the first place. He’d have to tell his dad that the villagers had elected to leave him here because they didn’t want him around. Oh skies above his dad was going to be so ashamed of him. 

Around what Varian would guess to be twenty minutes later, Alfred entered the square closely followed by Quirin. Varian had hoped that the villagers would have mercy and release him before his father could see him in such a pitiful state, but if his day had been any indicator of how his luck was, he wasn’t surprised that they didn’t. 

Quirin and Alfred slowly approached him and Varian looked up at them sheepishly, his cheeks burning with shame. His dad reached forward and pulled the apple out of Varian’s mouth, much to the boy’s relief. He rolled his jaw and popped it a couple times to provide soothing motions for the amount of aching he had. 

“Varian,” his father’s deep voice rumbled, getting Varian to peek up at him. “Are you alright?”

And there it was. That voice. That tone that made Varian want to shrink down smaller than he already felt under his dad’s gaze. The tone that sounded heavy and tiresome and Varian knew that tiredness was directed at him. It always went something like this: Varian had good intentions, something would go wrong, his father would make sure he was okay, but then he would read him the riot act. Same old story with the same ending of his dad being disappointed in him. 

“I’m fine, Dad,” Varian murmured, waiting to be chewed out. 

He did have to wait long. Quirin turned to Alfred. “What did he do?” 

Varian resisted the urge to speak before Alfred - to defend himself and tell his dad that nothing had even happened - that it was actually the villagers that were in the wrong this time. Right? They were the ones who left him trapped here… although he was the one who invented the compound. But he did it to help others! It was just an accident - no harm done. Except for Varian’s pride of course.

It was his fault. It was their fault!

“Well, Quirin, the boy came over and tried to show off his gooey substance, but, as you can believe, it backfired and he ended up trapping himself. As temporary leader, Hank thought it’d be best if the kid stayed put while we fixed up the well with no interruptions. And I’ll have you know, Quirin, that the well is operational once again,” Alred explained proudly. 

Hoping that his dad would speak up for him, Varian stayed quiet. “I’m pleased that the well can function to its full capacity again, my friend, and I apologize for my son’s actions,” Quirin said calmly. 

Ouch. Varian’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He knew that his dad was still annoyed about the well, but he had hoped that creating this goo trap and having the villagers love it, then his dad would finally be proud of him. That’s all he ever wanted. But his dad just didn’t understand what he was trying to do, and often didn’t even have time for it. Why should he have expected this to be any different?

Now his dad, like the rest of the villagers, would see this experiment as another failure - even if it obviously worked. Shame prickled at Varian’s throat. Did he not even want to know why Varian’s clothes were wet, or why he had an apple stuck in his mouth. He had to know that Varian would never do that to himself. Did he just not care or did he not want to talk about it in front of Alfred?

“It was a good day’s work without Varian poking his nose where it didn’t belong,” Alfred replied pointedly. Varian ducked his head as his cheeks flushed. 

“Yes, well, good work today, I can handle Varian from here,” Quirin said. Alfred shrugged and left the square leaving a father and son to awkwardly stare at each other. Varian didn’t dare speak first. 

Quirin sighed. “How do I get you out of this, son?” 

Varian timidly tipped his chin towards his middle. “The neutralizer is in my apron pocket,” he said quietly. He would have gone into more details about the amazing chemical composition about the neutralizer, but he didn’t want his dad to get upset. 

Quirin retrieved the vial from Varian’s pocket and sprinkled the salt on the goo, and the pink substance retreated with a quiet hiss until it had completely evaporated. 

Though Varian was upset by how this whole day unfolded, he stood up and stretched his sore body in relief. He arched his back and rolled his stiff shoulders, grateful that he could finally stand and move. He stepped off the platform and wordlessly followed his father, who had begun walking home. 

“Dad, I-” he started, hoping to explain that this was not a failed experiment, but a cruel public humiliation, but it seemed that his dad had other ideas. 

“What happened, Varian?” he said in a low voice. There was no room for any argument or misconception in his tone. 

“I made a special compound that functions as a humane way to trap animals to help with the critter problem,” he began quietly, “I tried to get the word out about it, but I dropped it and got myself stuck. I asked Elaine to get me out, but everyone wanted to keep me trapped all day like - like an animal!”

“Varian, you cannot blame the people for being cautious. Fixing it took a lot of work, but they managed to finish that today. You mean well son, but one of these days your good intentions are going to get you or others hurt. What if your invention had gone wrong? You were lucky that you only became stuck for a short while. We can’t waste anymore planting time cleaning up things like the collapsed well. Do you understand?”

“But I-”

“Varian, do you understand?”

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, humiliation made Varian’s cheeks turn red and his heart clench. Why wouldn’t his dad listen to him? Varian had done something truly good for the village, but his dad only wanted to focus on the mistakes that he made. How come it always seemed that way?

Why couldn’t he make his dad proud of him?

“Yes, sir,” he whispered. 

The rest of the walk home was made in silence, but when Varian went to retreat into his lab, his father stopped him one last time.  
“Son, I see that your goo chemical is very strong, and we don’t want people getting stuck in it, so it is for the best if you only use that substance in your lab or on our grounds.”

It pricked at Varian’s heart to sideline yet another one of his projects - especially his most successful one - but there was no arguing about this. When his dad put his mind to something, there was nothing that could change it. 

“Okay, Dad,” he replied sullenly, closing the door to his lab with a soft thump. He slowly walked into his lab to be met with plans and written equations for his goo compound and the many trails that had gotten him the final product. There was also the pesky but endearing racoon that always managed to sneak into his lab and was his inspiration for the humane critter trap sitting on his desk. He ignored it for now, sitting at his desk and putting his head in his hands. 

He had been so confident in making that compound, hoping that finally people would see something in him - something special - but today only showed that people didn’t trust him or his work. Not even his dad seemed to have faith in him. If he couldn’t get people to see the awesome power of alchemy in something as simple and helpful as a critter trap, then how would they ever see that this science could change their lives?

Well if people wouldn’t notice his small acts then he needed to go big. He needed to wow them and surprise them with something extra special. And the way to do that was start construction on his underground boilers that he had been mapping out in his head all day. 

Never again would he be publicly humiliated. The village would have hot running water, people would stop calling him a dangerous wizard, and maybe, just maybe, his dad would be proud of him. 

Because he would make his dad proud if that was the last thing he ever did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on what the hair, I just don’t think that quirin is a very good dude. Varian tries so hard to get his attention and make him proud but he just pushes him aside. A crime really
> 
> Also I’ve been thinking, why aren’t there more fics where varian didn’t team up with the Saporians in season 3 but he was their prisoner instead? Wouldn’t that be so angsty and awesome?  
> Anyway enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> This is pre-series, so Varian is about 13


End file.
